The NBA Playoff field is finally set, and the Toronto Raptors should find themselves in the mix to repeat as champions. The Raptors finished 7-1 in the bubble and won 11 of its last 12 games heading into the playoffs where they earned the No. 2 seed against the seventh-seeded Brooklyn Nets. Game 1 is scheduled for Monday, Aug. 17 at 4 p.m. EST on ESPN.
Toronto played the role of an underdog all the way to an NBA title led by Kawai Leonard last year. He moved to the Clippers in the offseason, but the Raptors remain a threat to win the Eastern Conference with Pascal Siakam and Kyle Lowry leading the way.
On the other side, the Nets were one of the surprises of the bubble finishing 5-3 in their eight games despite playing without Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, DeAndre Jordan and Spencer Dinwiddie. Brooklyn was led by Caris LeVert, who averaged 25 points in six games in the bubble.
We’ll get you ready for Game 1 of the series and show you what the legal sportsbooks in the US have to say on whether the Raptors will repeat as NBA champions.
Game 1
Point Spread
Toronto finished third among all NBA teams in the regular season with a 40-31-1 record against the spread for 57.8%, only behind the Boston Celtics and Oklahoma City Thunder. Brooklyn finished 11th with a record of 37-35 against the spread.
The Raptors finished 6-2 against the spread in the bubble, while the Nets also did better than expectations at 5-3 against the number. In four games against each other in the regular season, the teams split finishing 2-2 against each other against the spread.
- Raptors -10
- Nets +10
Total Points
In eight games in the bubble, Raptors unders went 5-2-1, while the Nets hit the over five times with three unders. Games involving Toronto averaged 217.25 total points in the bubble, while games Brooklyn appeared in featured lots more scoring with an average of 239.75 total points.
- Over 222 -113
- Under 222 -108
Moneyline
The Raptors beat the Nets in three out of four games outright in the regular season. Their last game between the two teams came on Feb. 12, a 101-91 Nets win in Brooklyn.
- Nets +410
- Raptors -530
Series
Series Winner
The Raptors have the second highest odds in the league to advance to the next round of the NBA Playoffs. Only the Milwaukee Bucks have better odds at -10000 against the Orlando Magic.
- Raptors -5000
- Nets +1400
Total games played
Oddsmakers expect Toronto and Brooklyn to be a fairly quick series with the expectation the Raptors either lose one or zero games in the series.
- Under 5.5 -670
- Under 4.5 -125
- Over 4.5 +103
- Over 5.5 +450
- Over 6.5 +2000
Game spread
This futures bet refers to how many games the Raptors will win the series by and once again, oddsmakers are saying Toronto should win this series fairly easily.
- Raptors -2.5 -455
- Nets +2.5 +340
Eastern Conference Winner
The Raptors have the second best odds to make it out of the Eastern Conference and advance to the NBA Finals behind the Bucks.
- Bucks -167
- Raptors +340
- Celtics +500
- Heat +900
- 76ers +2200
- Pacers +500
- Magic +10000
- Nets +15000
NBA Champion Winner
According to the oddsmakers, there’s a bit of a drop off in NBA title expectations after the top three, but Toronto finds itself with the fourth best odds in the league.
- Lakers +250
- Bucks +260
- Clippers +300
- Raptors +1100
- Rockets +1400
It’s a fun stretch to be a fan of the Raptors right now. A letdown was possible after losing its best player from last season, but Toronto has remained among the teams to beat in the Eastern Conference without Leonard. Many players on the roster have significant NBA Playoff experience, though it might be a little different in a bubble setting. Regardless, postseason experience should factor in this time of year, and the Raptors have plenty of it.
